This abstract is from the cover of the book.
Contested Closets is about secrets and the telling of secrets, about lies and the telling of lies. It is about the codes that bind some people to keep others' secrets, and the conventions that require some people to tell lies about others. And it is about the breaking of these codes and the violation of these conventions. It is about the deliberate revelation by lesbian and gay people of the hidden homosexuality of prominent people. It is also about the conflicting loyalties of journalists—mainstream and alternative, straight and gay—caught between the obligation to tell the truth as they know it (even if not the whole truth), and the rules of the game that protect the sexual secrets of celebrities and public officials. It is about the shifting boundaries between the public and private realms, and the dangers of building a politcal strategy on the narrow platform of the right to privacy. It is a book about outing. (from the author's preface)
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